Fun with Dick and Jane
Dick and Jane get married.
Dick and Jane get divorced.
Dick, having no annulment*, gets “remarried” to Dawn outside the Church. Dick’s marriage to Dawn is invalid, never happened.
Some years later, Jane dies.
Is the marriage of Dick and Dawn now valid? No.
Dick wasn’t free to engage in a valid sacrament with Dawn because he was still married to Jane. Jane’s death changes absolutely nothing about the status of Dick and Dawn’s marriage. Yes, Dick is now free to marry Dawn, but he still has no marriage as their invalid marriage is not suddenly valid after the fact. They’re still living in sin before and after Jane’s death. They must engage in a valid sacrament of matrimony in order to be validly husband and wife in the eyes of the church.
Teh Francis isn’t pope any more today than he was 30 years ago. Pope Benedict’s death didn’t change that teh Francis’ fake election in 2013 was invalid. The 2013 invalid conclave/election does not suddenly become valid. The papacy is now vacant, but a valid conclave and valid election must occur to pick a new pope.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE:
John owns John’s Hardware Store.
Steve is a manager at John’s Hardware Store.
Steve writes a contract on June 12, 2023 to sell John’s Hardware Store to Eric.
Is Eric the owner of John’s Hardware Store? No. John had no intent to sell it, and the store never belonged to Steve in the first place.
John dies a year later.
Does the contract between Steve and Eric become valid? Of course not for the reasons mentioned above.
Let’s say John dies a year later and leaves the store to Steve (after Steve “sold” the store to Eric). Is the sale to Eric now valid? Again, no because Steve didn’t own the store when he “sold” it to Eric.
Sorry, Eric. Subway is hiring.
Steve and Eric must draft a new contract because the original contract is invalid and never can become valid because it was drafted under false pretenses.
This is not rocket science. You do not have to be an “expert” to understand these basic concepts. They’re so elementary, that you even use them with your own kiddos. “No David, you can’t give Gus’s toy to Susie. It’s not yours.” The same rules apply.